Control information obtaining method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to control information sending methods in a wireless communications system. In one example waveform control information sending method, a network device obtains control information that includes uplink transmission waveform indication information, and sends the control information to a terminal. After receiving the control information, the terminal determines, based on the control information, a waveform used to send uplink data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/668,939, filed on Oct. 30, 2019, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2018/085091, filed on Apr. 28, 2018.The International Application claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 201710313617.2, filed on May 5, 2017. All of theafore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a control information technology ina wireless communications system.

BACKGROUND

An orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology and adiscrete fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (DFT-S OFDM) technology are two typical waveforms used inwireless communication. The OFDM technology is a multi-carriermodulation technology in which a data flow is divided into a pluralityof parallel subcarriers for transmission, a relatively low data rate maybe used on each subcarrier, and a relatively high transmission rate isreached as a whole. The OFDM has advantages of a strong anti-multipathinterference capability and a flexible frequency division multiplexingmanner. However, a main disadvantage of the OFDM is an excessively highpeak to average power ratio (PAPR). However, discrete fourier transform(DFT) is introduced into the DFT-S-OFDM before inverse fast fouriertransform (IFFT) is performed in the OFDM. Because the DFT-S-OFDMinherits a plurality of advantages of the OFDM, the DFT-S-OFDM providesa PAPR far lower than that of the OFDM. In addition, although theDFT-S-OFDM inherits a subcarrier processing process of the OFDM, thetechnology is generally considered as a single-carrier technologybecause the technology supports only consecutive resource allocation.

In an early mobile communications system, only the DFT-S-OFDM technologyis used in an uplink (namely, a channel used by a terminal to send datato a network device). When the terminal is always configured to supporta DFT-S-OFDM waveform, the network device sends scheduling informationto the terminal by using downlink control information (DCI).Specifically, the scheduling information may include consecutiveresource allocation information, a modulation scheme, power controlinformation, and the like. After receiving the scheduling informationsent by the network device, the terminal may configure a presetDFT-S-OFDM waveform based on the scheduling information, to send uplinkdata. However, the inventor finds that with evolution of technologies,this configuration manner is increasingly inflexible, and consequentlyuser experience is affected.

SUMMARY

The present invention describes a control information sending method andan apparatus, so that a network device can configure an appropriatewaveform for a terminal, thereby improving user experience.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a control information sending method, where the methodincludes:

generating, by a network device, control information, where the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform of a terminal; and

sending, by the network device, the control information to the terminal.

In a possible design, the control information is radio resource controlRRC signaling, a media access control-control element MAC CE, ordownlink control information DCI. The network device may send thecontrol information to one terminal based on a specific requirement forflexible waveform configuration, for example, by using unicast RRCsignaling. The network device may alternatively send the controlinformation to a plurality of terminals, for example, by using multicastor broadcast RRC signaling.

In a possible design, the uplink transmission waveform is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or a discrete fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-S-OFDMwaveform; or the uplink transmission waveform is an OFDM waveform and aDFT-S-OFDM waveform.

In a possible design, the control information is used to indicate awaveform used when the terminal transmits uplink data for one time. Thismanner is mainly for a terminal whose channel characteristic changesrelatively fast, and therefore maximum flexibility is provided. Thecontrol information may alternatively be used to indicate a waveformused when the terminal transmits uplink data for a plurality of times.To be specific, after the network device configures one waveform for theterminal, the terminal may always transmit the uplink data by using thewaveform without changing the waveform, in other words, the terminal maytransmit the uplink data for a plurality of times by using the waveform.This method is mainly for a terminal whose channel changes relativelyslow, and therefore communication between the network device and theterminal is simplified.

In a possible design, the method further includes the following steps:

generating, by the network device, another piece of control information,where the another piece of control information includes another piece ofinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform of the terminal;and

sending, by the network device, the another piece of control informationto the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the another piece of control informationis radio resource control RRC signaling, a media access control-controlelement MAC CE, or downlink control information DCI.

In a possible implementation, a waveform indicated by the another pieceof information indicating the uplink transmission waveform of theterminal is the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM waveformor the discrete fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

In a possible design, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform of the terminal is transmission mode TM information, modulationand coding scheme MCS information, or waveform and power control mixedinformation. Alternatively, the control information is downlink controlinformation DCI; and a length of the DCI indicates at least one uplinktransmission waveform, or the DCI includes one piece of waveformindication information. In addition, the DCI may include a group ofwaveform indication information. For example, by using a group of beampair identifiers and corresponding waveform information, the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal can be configured when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency. It should benoted that the group of waveform indication information mayalternatively be transmitted by using the radio resource control RRCsignaling or the media access control-control element MAC CE.Alternatively, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is at least one piece of power control information, and acumulative power offset of the at least one piece of power controlinformation is used by the terminal to determine a waveform. Similarly,the another piece of information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform of the terminal may also be that in any one of the foregoingfive manners.

In a possible design, the control information further includesscheduling information, and the scheduling information includes at leastconsecutive or discrete resource mapping information and anon-compressed or compressed modulation and coding scheme. Optionally,the scheduling information further includes frequency domain spectrumshaping FDSS indication information, and the FDSS indication informationis used to indicate whether the terminal uses an FDSS technology. Thescheduling information and the waveform information are simultaneouslysent, so that communication overheads can be reduced while uplinkscheduling on the terminal is completed.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a control information receiving method, where the methodincludes:

receiving, by a terminal, control information sent by a network device,where the control information includes information indicating an uplinktransmission waveform; and

determining, by the terminal based on the control information, awaveform used to send uplink data.

In a possible design, the control information is radio resource controlRRC signaling, a media access control-control element MAC CE, ordownlink control information DCI.

In a possible design, the uplink transmission waveform is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or a discrete fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-S-OFDMwaveform.

In a possible design, the control information is used to indicate awaveform used when the terminal transmits uplink data for one time. Thismanner is mainly for a terminal whose channel characteristic changesrelatively fast, and therefore maximum flexibility is provided. Thecontrol information may alternatively be used to indicate a waveformused when the terminal transmits uplink data for a plurality of times.To be specific, after the network device configures one waveform for theterminal, the terminal may always transmit the uplink data by using thewaveform without changing the waveform, in other words, the terminal maytransmit the uplink data for a plurality of times by using the waveform.This method is mainly for a terminal whose channel changes relativelyslow, and therefore communication between the network device and theterminal is simplified.

In a possible design, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is transmission mode TM information, modulation and codingscheme MCS information, or waveform and power control mixed information.Alternatively, the control information is downlink control informationDCI; and a length of the DCI indicates at least one uplink transmissionwaveform, or the DCI includes one piece of waveform indicationinformation. In addition, the DCI may include a group of waveformindication information. For example, by using a group of beam pairidentifiers and corresponding waveform information, the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal can be configured when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency. It should benoted that the group of waveform indication information mayalternatively be transmitted by using the radio resource control RRCsignaling or the media access control-control element MAC CE.Alternatively, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is at least one piece of power control information, and awaveform of the terminal is determined by using both a cumulative poweroffset of the at least one piece of power control information and apower value set by the terminal.

In a possible design, the method further includes:

determining, by the terminal based on the determined waveform used tosend the uplink data, a to-be-detected downlink control information DCIformat;

receiving, by the terminal, scheduling information sent by the networkdevice; and

sending, by the terminal, the uplink data based on the determinedwaveform used to send the uplink data and a scheduling parameterindicated by the scheduling information. It should be noted that thescheduling information is sent by using the DCI.

The terminal determines the to-be-detected DCI format by using waveforminformation that the terminal has known, and does not detect all DCIformats supported by the terminal, so as to simplify a relatedprocessing procedure of the terminal.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a network device, where the network device includes a processorand a transceiver, where

the processor is configured to generate control information, where thecontrol information includes information indicating an uplinktransmission waveform of a terminal; and

the transmitter is configured to send the control information to theterminal.

In a possible design, the control information is radio resource controlRRC signaling, a media access control-control element MAC CE, ordownlink control information DCI.

In a possible design, the uplink transmission waveform is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or a discrete fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-S-OFDMwaveform; or the uplink transmission waveform is an OFDM waveform and aDFT-S-OFDM waveform.

In a possible design, the control information is used to indicate awaveform used when the terminal transmits uplink data for one time. Thismanner is mainly for a terminal whose channel characteristic changesrelatively fast, and therefore maximum flexibility is provided. Thecontrol information may alternatively be used to indicate a waveformused when the terminal transmits uplink data for a plurality of times.To be specific, after the network device configures one waveform for theterminal, the terminal may always transmit the uplink data by using thewaveform without changing the waveform, in other words, the terminal maytransmit the uplink data for a plurality of times by using the waveform.This method is mainly for a terminal whose channel changes relativelyslow, and therefore communication between the network device and theterminal is simplified.

In a possible design, the network device further includes the followingcharacteristics:

The processor is further configured to generate another piece of controlinformation, where the another piece of control information includesinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform of the terminal;and

the transmitter is further configured to send the another piece ofcontrol information to the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the another piece of control informationis radio resource control RRC signaling, a media access control-controlelement MAC CE, or downlink control information DCI.

In a possible implementation, a waveform indicated by the informationindicating the uplink transmission waveform of the terminal is theorthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or the discretefourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexingDFT-S-OFDM waveform.

In a possible design, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform of the terminal is transmission mode TM information, modulationand coding scheme MCS information, or waveform and power control mixedinformation. Alternatively, the control information is downlink controlinformation DCI; and a length of the DCI indicates at least one uplinktransmission waveform, or the DCI includes one piece of waveformindication information. In addition, the DCI may include a group ofwaveform indication information. For example, by using a group of beampair identifiers and corresponding waveform information, the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal can be configured when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency. It should benoted that the group of waveform indication information mayalternatively be transmitted by using the radio resource control RRCsignaling or the media access control-control element MAC CE.Alternatively, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform of the terminal is at least one piece of power controlinformation, and a cumulative power offset of the at least one piece ofpower control information is used by the terminal to determine awaveform. Similarly, the another piece of information indicating theuplink transmission waveform of the terminal may also be that in any oneof the foregoing five manners.

In a possible design, the control information further includesscheduling information, and the scheduling information includes at leastconsecutive or discrete resource mapping information and anon-compressed or compressed modulation and coding scheme. Optionally,the scheduling information further includes frequency domain spectrumshaping FDSS indication information, and the FDSS indication informationis used to indicate whether the terminal uses an FDSS technology. Thescheduling information and the waveform information are simultaneouslysent, so that communication overheads can be reduced while uplinkscheduling on the terminal is completed.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a terminal, where the terminal includes a receiver and aprocessor, where

the receiver is configured to receive control information sent by anetwork device, where the control information includes informationindicating an uplink transmission waveform; and

the processor is configured to determine, based on the controlinformation, a waveform used to send uplink data.

In a possible design, the control information is radio resource controlRRC signaling, a media access control-control element MAC CE, ordownlink control information DCI.

In a possible design, the uplink transmission waveform is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or a discrete fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-S-OFDMwaveform.

In a possible design, the control information is used to indicate awaveform used when the terminal transmits uplink data for one time. Thismanner is mainly for a terminal whose channel characteristic changesrelatively fast, and therefore maximum flexibility is provided. Thecontrol information may alternatively be used to indicate a waveformused when the terminal transmits uplink data for a plurality of times.To be specific, after the network device configures one waveform for theterminal, the terminal may always transmit the uplink data by using thewaveform without changing the waveform, in other words, the terminal maytransmit the uplink data for a plurality of times by using the waveform.This method is mainly for a terminal whose channel changes relativelyslow, and therefore communication between the network device and theterminal is simplified.

In a possible design, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is transmission mode TM information, modulation and codingscheme MCS information, or waveform and power control mixed information.Alternatively, the control information is downlink control informationDCI; and a length of the DCI indicates at least one uplink transmissionwaveform, or the DCI includes one piece of waveform indicationinformation. In addition, the DCI may include a group of waveformindication information. For example, by using a group of beam pairidentifiers and corresponding waveform information, the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal can be configured when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency. It should benoted that the group of waveform indication information mayalternatively be transmitted by using the radio resource control RRCsignaling or the media access control-control element MAC CE.Alternatively, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is at least one piece of power control information, and awaveform of the terminal is determined by using both a cumulative poweroffset of the at least one piece of power control information and apower value set by the terminal.

In a possible design, the processor is further configured to determine,based on the determined waveform used to send the uplink data, ato-be-detected DCI format; the receiver is further configured to receivescheduling information sent by the network device; and the terminalfurther includes a transmitter, where the transmitter is configured tosend the uplink data based on the determined waveform used to send theuplink data and a scheduling parameter indicated by the schedulinginformation. It should be noted that the scheduling information is sentby using the DCI.

The terminal determines the to-be-detected DCI format by using awaveform that the terminal has known, and does not detect all DCIformats supported by the terminal, so as to simplify a relatedprocessing procedure of the terminal.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a data processing apparatus, where the data processingapparatus is located in a terminal, and the data processing apparatusincludes a processor and an interface, where

the processor is configured to obtain a waveform based on controlinformation received by a receiver of the terminal, where the downlinkcontrol information is sent by a network device, and the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform; and

the processor is further configured to provide to-be-sent uplink datafor a transmitter of the terminal through the interface, so that thetransmitter sends the uplink data by using the waveform.

In a possible design, the control information is radio resource controlRRC signaling, a media access control-control element MAC CE, ordownlink control information DCI.

In a possible design, the uplink transmission waveform is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing OFDM waveform or a discrete fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-S-OFDMwaveform.

In a possible design, the control information is used to indicate awaveform used when the terminal transmits uplink data for one time. Thismanner is mainly for a terminal whose channel characteristic changesrelatively fast, and therefore maximum flexibility is provided. Thecontrol information may alternatively be used to indicate a waveformused when the terminal transmits uplink data for a plurality of times.To be specific, after the network device configures one waveform for theterminal, the terminal may always transmit the uplink data by using thewaveform without changing the waveform, in other words, the terminal maytransmit the uplink data for a plurality of times by using the waveform.This method is mainly for a terminal whose channel changes relativelyslow, and therefore communication between the network device and theterminal is simplified.

In a possible design, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is transmission mode TM information, modulation and codingscheme MCS information, or waveform and power control mixed information.Alternatively, the control information is downlink control informationDCI; and a length of the DCI indicates at least one uplink transmissionwaveform, or the DCI includes one piece of waveform indicationinformation. In addition, the DCI may include a group of waveformindication information. For example, by using a group of beam pairidentifiers and corresponding waveform information, the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal can be configured when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency. It should benoted that the group of waveform indication information mayalternatively be transmitted by using the radio resource control RRCsignaling or the media access control-control element MAC CE.Alternatively, the information indicating the uplink transmissionwaveform is at least one piece of power control information, and awaveform of the terminal is determined by using both a cumulative poweroffset of the at least one piece of power control information and apower value set by the terminal.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a scheduling information receiving method, where the methodincludes:

receiving, by a terminal, a random access response message sent by anetwork device, where the random access response message is used foruplink channel scheduling, and corresponds to at least one of aplurality of uplink transmission waveforms; and

sending, by the terminal, uplink data to the network device by using ascheduling parameter indicated by the random access response message.

In a possible design, the plurality of uplink transmission waveformsinclude at least an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDMwaveform and a discrete fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

In a possible design, the waveform corresponding to the random accessresponse message is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDMwaveform or a discrete fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing DFT-S-OFDM waveform; or the waveform correspondingto the random access response message is an OFDM waveform and aDFT-S-OFDM waveform.

Compared with the prior art, in the solutions provided in the presentinvention, a waveform of the terminal may be flexibly configured throughone or more interactions between the terminal and the network device, sothat the terminal can select appropriate waveforms based on differentstatuses of the terminal, to transmit uplink data, thereby improvingperformance of communication between the terminal and the networkdevice, and improving user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention in moredetails with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a possible application scenario according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic communication diagram of one type of waveformcontrol information processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic communication diagram of another type of waveformcontrol information processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of still another type of waveformcontrol information processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic communication diagram of one type of controlinformation processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic communication diagram of another type of controlinformation processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic communication diagram of still another type ofcontrol information processing according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A network architecture and a service scenario described in theembodiments of the present invention are intended to describe thetechnical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention moreclearly, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutionsprovided in the embodiments of the present invention. A person ofordinary skill in the art may know that with evolution of networkarchitectures and emergence of new service scenarios, the technicalsolutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention are alsoapplicable to similar technical problems.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention maybe applied to a wireless communications system such as a future 5Gcommunications system that supports at least two waveforms. FIG. 1 is aschematic diagram of a possible network to which the present inventionis applicable. Terminals 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c are connected to anetwork device 101. The network device may support a plurality of accesstechnologies, and provide a plurality of services for the terminal byusing the plurality of access technologies.

Specifically, the terminal may communicate with one or more networkdevices by using a radio access network (RAN). The terminal may be userequipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriberstation, a mobile console, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobiledevice, a user terminal, a wireless communications device, a user agent,or a user apparatus. For example, the terminal may be a cellular phone,a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wirelesslocal loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handhelddevice having a wireless communication function, a computing device,another processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicledevice, a wearable device, or a terminal in a future 5G network. Thenetwork device in the present invention is an apparatus that is disposedin the RAN and that is configured to provide a wireless communicationfunction for the terminal. For example, the network device may be a basetransceiver station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, or may be aNodeB (NB) in a WCDMA system, or may be an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB)in an LTE system; or the network device may be a relay station, anaccess point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a network-sidedevice (which is sometimes referred to as a next-generation NodeB (gNB))in a future 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved publicland mobile system (PLMN) network.

Currently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is formulatinga new-generation wireless communications standard, namely, new radio(NR), which specifies that two technologies: OFDM and DFT-S-OFDM aresupported in an uplink. An OFDM waveform can provide a larger capacityin a high signal-to-noise ratio scenario, and therefore is applicable toa cell center user. A DFT-S-OFDM waveform featured by a low PAPRprovides a higher output power of a power amplifier, and thereforeprovides a wider coverage area, and is more applicable to a cell edgeuser with limited coverage. It can be learned that the terminal mayobtain better performance by using different waveforms, to obtain betteruser experience. For example, when the terminal is at a cell center, theterminal may obtain relatively good performance (for example, athroughput or a block error rate) at relatively low power by using theOFDM waveform. When the terminal is on a cell edge, the terminal needsto use the DFT-S-OFDM waveform featured by a single carrier to normallyperform data communication with the network device, so as to improvetransmit power and ensure communication performance.

In the NR standard, the terminal needs to support both the OFDMtechnology and the DFT-S-OFDM technology. Waveform configuration isdetermined by the network device (for example, the gNB) based onspecific information of the terminal (for example, a factor such as alocation of the terminal or channel quality information fed back by theterminal). Therefore, a waveform information sending method is needed tosupport the network device in transmitting waveform information selectedby the network device to the terminal, so that the terminal candetermine, based on the waveform information, a waveform used to senduplink data. In the solutions provided in this application, the networkdevice may flexibly configure a waveform of the terminal, so that theterminal transmits uplink channel data by using an appropriate waveform,thereby providing better user experience.

The network device semi-statically or dynamically configures a waveformfor the terminal. The semi-static waveform configuration means thatafter receiving waveform configuration information, the terminal alwaystransmits uplink data by using the waveform until the terminal receiveswaveform configuration information sent by the network device again. Thedynamic waveform configuration means that before transmitting uplinkdata, the terminal needs to determine, based on waveform configurationinformation sent by the network device, a waveform type currently usedto transmit the uplink data.

The following further describes the embodiments of the present inventionin detail based on the foregoing similarities in the present invention.It should be noted that for ease of description, the followingembodiments are all described by using an example in which the terminalsupports two waveforms (namely, an OFDM waveform and a DFT-S-OFDMwaveform). However, the embodiments of the present invention may befurther applied to a system that supports more than two waveforms.

Embodiment 1

An embodiment of the present invention provides a waveform controlinformation processing method and a network device and a terminal basedon the method. The network device and the terminal complete waveformconfiguration through at least one interaction. The following describesthis embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference toFIG. 2.

201. The network device generates control information, where the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform.

Specifically, the network device may transmit waveform information byusing radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control(MAC) layer signaling (which is sometimes referred to as a MAC-controlelement (CE)) as the control information.

In a possible implementation, the network device explicitly transmitsthe information indicating the uplink transmission waveform. Forexample, different configurations may be used in an existing RRC messageor a newly defined RRC message to represent different types of waveforminformation. For example, one configuration is used to represent an OFDMwaveform, another configuration is used to represent a DFT-S-OFDMwaveform, and still another configuration is used to represent the OFDMwaveform or the DFT-S-OFDM waveform. It should be noted that no explicitwaveform information is provided in the last configuration. Therefore,after receiving the information, the terminal cannot determine awaveform used to transmit uplink data, and needs to wait for anotherpiece of waveform indication information of the network device.

In another possible implementation, the network device explicitly sendsa plurality of pieces of waveform indication information and a scenarioused for the waveform configuration. For example, when the networkdevice and the terminal communicate at a high frequency, a plurality ofwireless communication links (which are also referred to as beam pairs)may be formed between the network device and the terminal. Therefore,the network device and the terminal may select different communicationlinks for communication. In a specific example, one terminal has fiveuplink beam pairs, namely, five uplink communication links, and numbersof these links are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. When sending the waveforminformation, the network device may send a group of waveformconfiguration information, to indicate a specific waveform and a numberof an uplink beam pair using the waveform. For example, the networkdevice may send (1, OFDM), (2, DFT-S-OFDM), (3, OFDM), (4, either OFDMor DFT-S-OFDM), and (5, OFDM). It should be noted that the beam pairrefers to a unidirectional link, to be specific, a downlink beam pairincludes one transmit beam of the network device and one receive beam ofthe terminal, and is used by the network device to send data to theterminal; and an uplink beam pair includes one transmit beam of theterminal and one receive beam of the network device, and is used by theterminal to send data to the network device. A specific representationmanner of a correspondence between an uplink beam pair and used waveforminformation is not limited in the present invention.

In another possible implementation, the network device may alternativelyimplicitly transmit the waveform information. For example, the networkdevice configures a transmission mode (TM) of the terminal by using anRRC layer signaling message, to indirectly transmit the waveforminformation. For example, the TM sent by the network device includes amulti-stream transmission indication, to indicate that the OFDM waveformneeds to be configured for the terminal. To be specific, when receivingthe TM information sent by the network device, the terminal maydetermine that a waveform configured by the network device for theterminal is the OFDM waveform. For another example, if the TM receivedby the terminal supports pi/2 binary phase shift keying (BPSK)modulation scheme, the terminal may determine that a waveform configuredby the network device for the terminal is the DFT-S-OFDM waveform. Forstill another example, if the TM received by the terminal supportssingle-stream transmission and consecutive resource mapping, it may beunderstood that a waveform configured by the network device for theterminal is the two waveforms.

For brevity, the network device may explicitly or implicitly transmitthe information indicating the uplink transmission waveform. For morespecific implementation methods, refer to descriptions in Embodiment 2.Details are not described herein.

It should be noted that the RRC signaling may be sent to one or moreterminals in a broadcast, multicast, or unicast manner. For example,master information block (MIB) information is broadcast information, andthe information is sent through a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Foranother example, system information block (SIB) information is also abroadcast message, and the message is sent through a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH). Similar to the SIB information, both multicastinformation and unicast information are sent through the PDSCH. Adifference between multicast and unicast lies in that quantities ofusers who receive a corresponding message are different, and there are aplurality of users who receive a corresponding message in the multicastand there is one user who receives a corresponding message in theunicast. It can be learned that the network device may control waveformconfigurations of the one or more terminals by using the controlmessage. For example, if the network device wants to configure onewaveform for all devices in an entire cell covered by the networkdevice, the control information may be an RRC broadcast message. Thenetwork device 101 shown in FIG. 1 may send the control message to thethree terminals in the network, namely, terminals 102 a, 102 b, and 102c. For another example, if the network device wants to configure a samewaveform for a plurality of devices in an entire cell covered by thenetwork device, the control information may be an RRC multicast message.For example, the network device 101 sends the multicast message to theterminals 102 a and 102 b.

It should be further noted that the control information sent in thisstep can indicate a subset including all waveforms that can be supportedby the terminal. In a possible implementation, the control informationsent in this step may indicate one waveform. For example, a waveformthat may be selected by the network device is the OFDM waveform or theDFT-S-OFDM waveform. In another possible implementation, the controlinformation sent in this step may indicate one waveform and a pluralityof waveforms. For example, a waveform that may be selected by thenetwork device is the OFDM waveform or the OFDM waveform and theDFT-S-OFDM waveform, or the DFT-S-OFDM waveform or the OFDM waveform andthe DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

202. The network device sends the control information.

Specifically, the network device may determine, based on a message typecarrying the control message, whether to send the control messagethrough the PDSCH or the PBCH. It should be noted that, after receivingthe control information, the terminal needs to obtain the waveforminformation included in the control information through parsing based onthe control information. In a possible implementation, the includedwaveform information may be a plurality of pieces of waveforminformation, for example, the OFDM waveform and the DFT-S-OFDM waveform.In this case, the terminal cannot determine the waveform used totransmit the uplink data, and further needs to wait for another piece ofcontrol information of the network device. In another possibleimplementation, the included waveform information may indicate onewaveform, for example, the OFDM waveform.

203. The network device generates another piece of control information,where the another piece of control information includes informationindicating the uplink transmission waveform.

Specifically, the network device may use a MAC CE or downlink controlinformation (DCI) as the another piece of control information. The DCIinformation is sent through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

It should be noted that the another piece of control informationexplicitly indicates one waveform. For example, when the control messagein step 201 indicates two waveforms (namely, the OFDM waveform and theDFT-S-OFDM waveform), the another piece of control informationexplicitly indicates the OFDM waveform. It should be further noted thatthis step is optional. For example, if one waveform has been explicitlyindicated in parts 401 and 402, this step is not needed. It should beadditionally noted that this embodiment is described for one waveformconfiguration. In an application scenario of a plurality of waveforms,even when one waveform is explicitly indicated by using the controlinformation in steps 401 and 402, the network device may also send theanother piece of control information to change the waveformconfiguration. For specific descriptions, refer to Embodiment 3. Detailsare not described herein.

204. The network device sends the another piece of control information.

Specifically, the network device may determine, based on a message (orsignaling) type used as the another piece of control information,whether to send the another piece of control information through thePDSCH or the PDCCH.

205. The terminal determines a waveform used to send uplink data.

Specifically, the terminal receives the control information sent by thenetwork device, and determines, based on the control information, thewaveform used to send the uplink data.

In a possible implementation, the network device performs steps 201 and202, and the terminal determines specific waveform information based onthe control information. For example, the waveform is the OFDM waveform.For another example, the waveform is the DFT-S-OFDM waveform. In anotherpossible implementation, the network device performs steps 201 to 204,and the terminal determines one piece of waveform information based onthe another piece of control information, and indicates waveformconfiguration on an uplink channel (for example, a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH)) by using the waveform information.

It should be noted that, regardless of whether there is one or twocontrol messages, the control information is semi-statically sent byusing the RRC signaling or the MAC CE. To be specific, after receivingexplicit (or one piece of) waveform indication information, the terminalsubsequently transmits the uplink data for a plurality of times by usingthe waveform, and only when receiving waveform switching indicationinformation (or when receiving the waveform configuration informationagain), the terminal changes the waveform used to transmit the uplinkdata. An advantage is that for a terminal whose channel characteristicchanges relatively slow, configuration overheads can be reduced in suchthe semi-static configuration manner.

As described in Embodiment 2 for the DCI, according to this method,dynamic waveform configuration may be implemented, to be specific,during each transmission, the terminal controls current waveformconfiguration on an uplink channel by using the DCI that includes thewaveform indication information and that is sent by the network device.Therefore, a manner of indicating a waveform by using a combination ofthe RRC and the DCI indicates two waveforms, a manner of indicating awaveform by using a combination of the MAC CE and the DCI indicates onewaveform, and the waveform configuration is modified based on arequirement. This manner is mainly for a terminal whose channelcharacteristic changes relatively fast, and therefore better flexibilitythan that in the semi-static manner can be provided.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal. For example, when the terminal is at a center of a cell,the network device configures the OFDM waveform for the terminal, sothat the terminal can obtain relatively good channel performance ofcommunication with the network device at relatively low power. Foranother example, when the terminal is on an edge of a cell, the networkdevice configures the DFT-S-OFDM waveform for the terminal, so that theterminal can normally perform data communication with the networkdevice. In this way, the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, so as to improve user experience.

Embodiment 2

An embodiment of the present invention provides another waveform controlinformation processing method and a network device and a terminal basedon the method. The network device and the terminal complete waveformconfiguration through only one interaction. The following describes thisembodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

301. The network device generates control information, where the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform.

This step is similar to step 201 in FIG. 2, and details are notdescribed herein again. Differences are as follows: First, a controlmessage provided by using either RRC or a MAC CE includes an explicitwaveform indication, in other words, a waveform indication needs to beprovided. Second, the control message in step 301 may alternatively beDCI.

In a possible implementation, a length of the DCI, for example, DCI 4shown in Table 2, indicates a specific waveform. If the terminalreceives the DCI 4, the terminal only needs to determine whether alength value of the DCI 4 matches (in other words, is the same as) alength of a DCI format supported by the terminal, to determine that awaveform corresponding to the DCI is a DFT-S-OFDM waveform. For brevity,the terminal may directly determine, through length value matching, awaveform that needs to be used for current transmission.

The DCI may include scheduling DCI and non-scheduling DCI. Thescheduling DCI is DCI that includes at least a (consecutive or discrete)resource mapping manner and a (non-compressed or compressed) modulationand coding scheme. Optionally, the scheduling DCI may further includeanother parameter. For specific descriptions of the schedulingparameter, refer to Table 1. Details are not described herein. Thenon-scheduling DCI is DCI that does not include configurationinformation such as a resource mapping manner and a modulation andcoding scheme, for example, DCI that includes only power control.

In another possible implementation, after the terminal receives onepiece of DCI, if a matched known DCI may indicate at least twowaveforms, the terminal further needs to parse a field included in theDCI, to determine waveform information indicated by the DCI.Specifically, waveform configuration information may be obtained byusing a simple waveform indication field (for example, a waveformindication field of DCI 1) or a mixed indication field (for example, awaveform and power control mixed indication field of DCI 6). The DCI 6in Table 2 is used as an example, and one field may be used to representcombination information of a power control command and a waveformindication. In an example, the power control command includes threecommands, namely, {+1 dB, 0 dB, +1 dB}, and the waveform indicationindicates two optional waveforms: {OFDM, DFT-S-OFDM}. If only fourcombination control commands {+1 dB (OFDM), 0 dB (OFDM), −1 dB (OFDM),and 0 dB (DFT-S-OFDM)} are needed, a combination of the two parametersmay be indicated by a 2-bit field, to be specific, may be indicated by00, 01, 10, and 11. It should be noted that the waveform and the powercontrol mixed information may be sent by using the scheduling DCI, ormay be sent by using the non-scheduling DCI. This is not limited in thepresent invention.

It should be additionally noted that to reduce overheads, the networkdevice may further indirectly transmit the waveform indicationinformation by using another field. For example, modulation and codingscheme MCS (for meanings, refer to Table 1) information included in thescheduling DCI is classified, some of MCS values are used to indicate anOFDM waveform, and the others are used to indicate a DFT-S-OFDMwaveform. In a possible implementation, it is assumed that a valuesupported by the MCS ranges from 0 to 28. When the MCS is set to 0 to 9,a waveform corresponding to the MCS may be configured as the DFT-S-OFDMwaveform. When the MCS is set to 10 to 28, a corresponding waveform isconfigured as the OFDM waveform. For another example, the terminal mayindirectly determine, by using one or more pieces of power controlindication information sent by the network device, a waveform that needsto be used. Specifically, after the terminal receives one or more powercontrol indications (which may also be referred to as power offsetindications), if power that is obtained after a power offset (or acumulative power offset) indicated by the power control indicationinformation is applied to transmit power of a waveform (for example, theOFDM waveform) exceeds maximum transmit power that the terminal canreach, the terminal may determine that a waveform that needs to be usedby the terminal is the DFT-S-OFDM waveform. On the contrary, if powerthat is obtained after an offset (or a cumulative power offset) isapplied to transmit power calculated through OFDM does not exceedmaximum transmit power that the terminal can reach, the OFDM waveform isused.

302. The network device sends the control information.

Specifically, the network device selects one of a PBCH, a PDSCH, and aPDCCH based on a specific message type used as the control message, tosend the control message.

303. The terminal determines a waveform used to send uplink data.

This step is similar to step 205 described in Embodiment 1, and detailsare not described herein again. Differences are as follows: First, thecontrol information received by the terminal indicates one piece ofwaveform information. Second, a semi-static manner may be implemented inthree different manners (a MAC CE, RRC, or DCI), but dynamic waveformscheduling may be implemented only in the DCI manner.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal. For example, when the terminal is at a center of a cell,the network device configures the OFDM waveform for the terminal, sothat the terminal can obtain relatively good channel performance ofcommunication with the network device at relatively low power. Foranother example, when the terminal is on an edge of a cell, the networkdevice configures the DFT-S-OFDM waveform for the terminal, so that theterminal can normally perform data communication with the networkdevice. In this way, the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, so as to improve user experience.

Embodiment 3

An embodiment of the present invention provides still another waveformcontrol information processing method and a network device and aterminal based on the method. The network device sends waveform controlinformation for a plurality of times to refresh or replace previouswaveform configuration, so as to change the waveform configuration ofthe terminal. It should be noted that only some key steps are providedin this embodiment. For detailed waveform configuration steps, refer toEmbodiment 1, Embodiment 2, Embodiment 4, and Embodiment 5. Details arenot described herein. The following describes this embodiment of thepresent invention in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

401. The network device sends first control information to the terminal,where the first control information includes information indicating anuplink transmission waveform, and the terminal determines, based on thefirst control information, a waveform used to transmit uplink data.

This step is similar to steps 301 to 303 in Embodiment 2, and detailsare not described herein again. It should be noted that this step is akey step of one waveform configuration.

402. The network device sends second control information to theterminal, where the second control information includes another piece ofinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform, and theterminal re-determines, based on the second control information, awaveform used to transmit uplink data.

This step is similar to steps 301 to 303 in Embodiment 2, and detailsare not described herein again. It should be noted that in a possibleimplementation, the first control message is sent by using RRCsignaling, and the second control information is sent by using acombination of the RRC signaling and a MAC CE or a combination of theRRC signaling and DCI. Therefore, waveform configuration is reconfiguredfor the terminal, in other words, the terminal replaces the waveformindicated by the first control message with the waveform indicated bythe second control message. In another possible implementation, amessage used to carry both the first control information and the secondcontrol information is RRC signaling, in other words, waveformconfiguration information is refreshed or modified by using a samemessage. Signaling used for the first control information and the secondcontrol information is not limited in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal, so that the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, thereby improving user experience.

Embodiment 4

An embodiment of the present invention provides a control informationprocessing method and a network device and a terminal based on themethod. Different from Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3, the presentinvention focuses on an application scenario related to DCI, to describehow the network device performs waveform configuration on the terminaland configuration of a scheduling parameter related to a waveform.Specifically, in this embodiment, the network device first transmitsuplink transmission waveform information determined by the networkdevice, and then sends scheduling information, to configure an uplinkscheduling parameter (or scheduling information) of the terminal.

First, some general concepts or definitions used in this embodiment areexplained.

Table 1 summarizes examples of some scheduling parameters that may beused on an uplink channel, and provides detailed explanations.

TABLE 1 Some possible uplink channel scheduling parameters and meaningsthereof Sequence number Field name Meaning 1 Resource The resourcemapping indicates spectrum resource mapping information allocated by thenetwork device to the terminal. The information may indicate one pieceof consecutive spectrum resource information, or may indicate one pieceof discrete spectrum resource information, which depends on a specificresource allocation manner. In a possible example, a start spectrumpoint and a spectrum width may be used to represent the consecutivespectrum resource information. In another possible example, a spectrumresource may be divided into blocks, and one bit is used to represent astatus of a resource block, to be specific, 1 indicates that theresource block is allocated to a current uplink channel, and 0 indicatesthat the resource is not allocated to the current uplink channel. Forexample, if there are currently 10 spectrum resource blocks, andresource mapping information received by the terminal is {0001010001},it indicates that the terminal may use the fourth resource block, thesixth resource block, and the tenth spectrum resource block to transmituplink channel data. 2 Modulation The modulation and coding schemeindicates a and coding modulation scheme and code block size informationthat scheme are allocated by the network device to the terminal.Specifically, the modulation scheme may be quadrature phase shift keying(QPSK), 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16 QAM), or the like. Thecode block size information may be an index of a code block size, or mayindicate the code block size in another manner. In a possibleimplementation, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is transmitted.Quantities of bits specifically used for modulation and coding schemeinformation may be different, which depends on a quantity ofcombinations of the modulation scheme and the code block size. Forexample, if there are 29 MCSs, five bits are needed. If there are onlyeight MCSs, only three bits are needed. For ease of description, in thepresent invention, a modulation and coding scheme in which only arelatively small quantity of bits (for example, three bits) need to beused is referred to as a compressed modulation and coding scheme. On thecontrary, a modulation and coding scheme in which a relatively largequantity of bits (for example, eight bits) are needed is referred to asa non-compressed modulation and coding scheme or a modulation and codingscheme. 3 Power control The power control instruction instructs theterminal to instruction adjust transmit power. Specifically, thetransmit power may be a value in a unit of dB. 4 Frequency The frequencyhopping indication indicates whether the hopping terminal uses afrequency hopping technology between indication slots, which may bespecifically indicated by an indication bit. For example, if theindication bit is set to 1, it indicates that the frequency hopping isused. If the indication bit is set to 0, it indicates that frequencyhopping is not used. 5 Waveform The waveform indication indicateswaveform indication information that needs to be used when the terminaltransmits uplink data. Specifically, if there are two waveforms forselection, a waveform may be indicated by a waveform indication bit. Forexample, if the indication bit is set to 1, it indicates that onewaveform thereof is selected. If the indication bit is set to 0, itindicates that the other waveform is used. 6 Multi-stream Themulti-stream transmission indication indicates transmission whether theterminal performs multi-flow transmission, indication and the parameteris used only in a multi-carrier technology such as OFDM, which may bespecifically indicated by a specific quantity of streams. For example,three bits may be used to indicate that eight-stream transmission issupported at most. If a value is 010, it indicates that three-flowtransmission is performed. 7 FDSS The FDSS indication indicates whetherthe terminal uses indication a frequency domain spectrum shaping(Frequency Domain Spectrum Shaping, FDSS) technology, which may bespecifically indicated by an indication bit. For example, if theindication bit is set to 1, it indicates that the FDSS technology isused. If the indication bit is set to 0, it indicates that the FDSStechnology is not used. It should be noted that the FDSS technology is atechnology specific to a single carrier, and is used to further reduce aPAPR of the single carrier (for example, DFT-S-OFDM).

It should be noted that scheduling information corresponding to anuplink channel needs to include a (consecutive or discrete) resourcemapping manner and a (non-compressed or compressed) modulation andcoding scheme. Another parameter provided in Table 1 may be carriedbased on a specific application requirement. A specific quantity ofoptional parameters included in the scheduling information is notlimited in the present invention. The following merely provides someexamples of the scheduling information to clearly describe thisembodiment of the present invention.

In a possible implementation, the network device may send downlinkcontrol information (DCI) through a PDCCH, to transmit a schedulingparameter. In another possible implementation, the network device maysend the scheduling information through a PDSCH. For example, in arandom access phase, the network device may send a random accessresponse message through the PDSCH, to transmit the schedulingparameter.

The network device needs to select an uplink channel parameter for theterminal based on a waveform selected by the network device. However, aspecific quantity of included parameters needs to be determined based onactual application. Regardless of a downlink channel through which thescheduling parameter is sent and a specific quantity of includedscheduling parameters, the terminal needs to determine a waveform thatshould be used on an uplink channel of the terminal. For example, theterminal directly or indirectly determines the waveform configurationinformation by using the scheduling parameter received by the terminal,or obtains the waveform configuration information in another manner.

That the PDCCH is used as a downlink channel is used as an example.Table 2 provides some DCI formats, to be specific, provides a parameterthat may be included in a specific DCI format, and waveforms that may beindicated by the DCI formats.

TABLE 2 Examples of some possible DCI formats DCI Waveform that for- canbe indicated mat Included field and whether the field is or applicablename optional (O) or compulsory (C) waveform DCI Consecutive resourcemapping (C), modulation DFT-S-OFDM 1 and coding scheme (C), powercontrol waveform instruction (O), frequency hopping indication OFDM (O),waveform indication (O), and format waveform distinguishing indication(O) DCI Discrete resource mapping (C), modulation and OFDM 2 codingscheme (C), power control instruction waveform (O), and formatdistinguishing indication (O) DCI Discrete resource mapping (C),modulation and OFDM 3 coding scheme (C), power control instructionwaveform (O), multi-stream transmission indication (C), and formatdistinguishing indication (O) DCI Consecutive resource mapping (C),modulation DFT-S-ODFM 4 and coding scheme (C), power control waveforminstruction (O), and FDSS indication (O) DCI Consecutive resourcemapping (C), compressed DFT-S-ODFM 5 modulation and coding scheme (C),power waveform control instruction (O), and FDSS indication (O) DCIWaveform and power control mixed indication DFT-S-OFDM 6 (C) waveformOFDM waveform

It should be noted that the format distinguishing indication in Table 2is used to distinguish between different types of DCI. For example, whenquantities of bits included in two different types of DCI are equal (inother words, length values of the two different types of DCI are equal),the indication information may be added for distinguishing, so as tosimply distinguish between different DCI formats by using a length.Optionally, the distinguishing indication information may also be usedfor DCI formats with different lengths. How the field is specificallyused is not limited in the present invention. In addition, it should befurther noted that the DCI 6 is non-scheduling DCI (to be specific, aDCI format that includes no scheduling information). Therefore, the DCIis merely used for waveform indication instead of scheduling parametertransmission.

In addition, it should be further noted that fields included in a DCIformat in Table 2 are determined. For example, the DCI 1 includes theconsecutive resource mapping, the modulation and coding scheme, thepower control instruction, and the frequency hopping indication. Whethera field is optional or compulsory in Table 2 refers to whether a DCIformat includes a corresponding field in a specific application example.For example, in a specific implementation, the DCI format includes theconsecutive resource mapping and the modulation and coding scheme, andthe DCI format is still applicable to the DFT-S-OFDM waveform and theOFDM waveform. For another example, in another implementation, the DCIformat may include the consecutive resource mapping, the modulation andcoding scheme, and the frequency hopping indication, and similarly, theDCI format is still applicable to the DFT-S-OFDM waveform and the OFDMwaveform.

In addition, it should be additionally noted that in some specificapplication scenarios, a DCI format that may be used for a plurality ofwaveforms may also be defined as a format dedicated to a specificwaveform. A specific waveform that may be indicated by a DCI format isnot limited in the present invention. For example, the DCI 1 in Table 2is applicable to the DFT-S-OFDM waveform and the OFDM waveform inessence. However, it may be defined, based on an actual requirement (forexample, backward compatibility), that the DCI 1 is used to indicateonly the DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

It is assumed that the terminal supports the DCI 1 to the DCI 6 shown inTable 2. The following describes this embodiment of the presentinvention in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

501. The network device generates control information, where the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform.

502. The network device sends the control information to the terminal.

503. The terminal determines, based on the control information, awaveform used to send uplink data.

The three steps are similar to steps 301 to 303 shown in FIG. 3. Forspecific descriptions, refer to related descriptions. Details are notdescribed herein again. It should be noted that the three steps may befurther replaced with steps 201 to 205 shown in FIG. 2.

504. The terminal determines a to-be-detected DCI format based on thewaveform.

Specifically, for example, the terminal has determined, in step 503,that waveform information that needs to be used by the terminal is anOFDM waveform. Therefore, the terminal does not need to match a DCIformat obtained through blind detection and all DCI formats (namely, theDCI 1 to the DCI 6 in this embodiment) supported by the terminal, butonly needs to match the DCI format obtained through blind detection andthe DCI 1 to the DCI 3 and the DCI 6. In other words, the terminal onlyneeds to detect some DCI formats (in other words, a subset of a DCIformat set supported by the terminal) supported by the terminal, andthese pieces of DCI match waveform configuration that the terminal hasknown. An advantage is that the terminal more easily obtains waveforminformation.

505. The network device generates DCI that includes schedulinginformation.

Specifically, the network device selects an appropriate DCI format basedon the determined waveform information, to generate the DCI thatincludes the scheduling information. In a specific example, the networkdevice determines that the waveform is a DFT-S-OFDM waveform, anddetermines that to-be-sent scheduling parameters are (consecutive)resource mapping information, a modulation and coding scheme, and anFDSS indication. Therefore, a format selected by the network device froma preconfigured DCI format list (for example, Table 2) is the DCI 4. Thenetwork device generates, based on the format DCI 4, DCI correspondingto the terminal. It should be noted that the DCI 4 includes no explicitwaveform indication information. However, in a specific scenario, theDCI may include the waveform indication information, and may be used forwaveform switching. For details, refer to descriptions in Embodiment 5.Details are not described herein. The DCI that includes the waveforminformation may alternatively be merely used to transmit an appropriatescheduling parameter set, to be specific, the included waveformindication information is consistent with known waveform information,and therefore the terminal does not need to modify the waveformconfiguration.

506. The network device sends the DCI.

Specifically, the network device sends the DCI to the terminal through aPDCCH.

507. The terminal obtains the scheduling information through parsingbased on the DCI.

Specifically, the terminal matches, one by one, the DCI received by theterminal and the to-be-detected DCI formats determined by the terminalin step 504. After finding a format that can be used to correctly parsethe received DCI, the terminal obtains the scheduling information fromthe received DCI through parsing.

508. The terminal sends the uplink data based on the waveform and thescheduling information.

Specifically, in steps 507 and 508, after obtaining schedulingparameters included in the DCI (for example, (consecutive) resourcemapping information, a modulation and coding scheme, and a frequencyhopping indication, or a plurality of parameters shown in Table 1), theterminal may configure an uplink channel (for example, an NR PUSCH)based on these parameters, to send the data to the network device.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal, so that the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, thereby improving user experience. In addition,because the terminal has known the waveform, the terminal only needs todetect some DCI formats, so as to simplify related processing andoperations of the terminal.

Embodiment 5

An embodiment of the present invention provides another controlinformation processing method and a network device and a terminal basedon the method. Different from Embodiment 4 in which schedulinginformation and waveform information are sent by using differentmessages, in this embodiment, the scheduling information and thewaveform information are carried in same DCI. For a DCI format, theexamples provided in Table 2 are used in this embodiment. The followingdescribes this embodiment of the present invention in detail withreference to FIG. 6.

601. The network device generates control information, where the controlinformation includes information indicating an uplink transmissionwaveform.

602. The network device sends the control information.

The two steps are similar to steps 301 and 302 in Embodiment 2, anddetails are not described herein again. Differences are as follows:First, the two steps are optional. If the network device does notperform the two steps, the information indicating the uplinktransmission waveform may be transmitted by using DCI in step 603.Second, if the network device performs the two steps, the controlmessage is RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling. For example, the networkdevice may implicitly indicate waveform information when transmitting TMinformation by using the RRC signaling. In an example, the TM indicatessingle-stream transmission and consecutive resource mapping, in otherwords, the terminal receives the TM information, and determines that thewaveform information indicated by the network device is two waveforms:an OFDM waveform and a DFT-S-OFDM waveform. It should be noted that,after receiving the control information, the terminal needs to obtain,through parsing based on the control information, waveform informationindicated by the terminal. In this embodiment, the control informationreceived by the terminal indicates two waveforms. The terminal furtherneeds to obtain another piece of waveform indication information sent bythe network device, to determine a waveform used to transmit uplinkdata.

603. The network device generates DCI, where the DCI includes theinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform and schedulinginformation.

Specifically, the network device selects an appropriate DCI format basedon the scheduling information that needs to be sent. In this step, theDCI needs to explicitly indicate one piece of waveform information, andfurther needs to transmit the scheduling information (which is alsoreferred to as a scheduling parameter). In an example, if the networkdevice needs to transmit discrete resource mapping information,multi-stream transmission indication information, and the like, thenetwork device may select the format DCI 3 shown in Table 2, to generatethe DCI. It should be noted that the waveform information is implicitlytransmitted by using the DCI 3, in other words, the waveform isindicated by a length of the DCI.

604. The network device sends the DCI.

Specifically, the network device sends the DCI to the terminal through aPDCCH.

605. The terminal determines, based on the control information and theDCI, a waveform used to send uplink data and the scheduling information.

606. The terminal sends the uplink data based on the waveform and thescheduling information.

Specifically, in the two steps, the terminal obtains the waveforminformation indicated by the DCI and the included scheduling parameters(for example, the discrete resource mapping information, a modulationand coding scheme, and the multi-stream transmission indicationinformation), and the terminal may configure an uplink channel based onthese parameters, to send the data to the network device.

It should be noted that the network device may dynamically configure awaveform of the terminal by repeatedly performing steps 603 and 604. Fordescriptions of waveform configuration overwriting or replacement, referto descriptions in Embodiment 3. Details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal, so that the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, thereby improving user experience. In addition,the network device may send the waveform and the scheduling informationthrough one interaction, so as to reduce overheads of communicationbetween the terminal and the network device.

Embodiment 6

An embodiment of the present invention provides still another controlinformation processing method and a network device and a terminal basedon the method. This embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which theterminal randomly accesses a wireless network. In this embodiment, thenetwork device transmits scheduling information to the terminal througha PDSCH. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the schedulinginformation is sent by using a signaling message (namely, a MAC CE) at aMAC layer.

The following describes this embodiment of the present invention indetail with reference to FIG. 7.

701. The terminal sends a random access preamble.

Specifically, the terminal sends the random access preamble informationto the network device, to indicate that the terminal wants to performradio access communication with the network device.

702. The network device sends a broadcast system message, where thebroadcast system message includes waveform indication information.

After receiving the random access preamble sent by the terminal, thenetwork device performs this step when determining that the terminal cancommunicate with the network device. This step is similar to step 301 inEmbodiment 2. A difference lies in that in this step in this embodiment,a broadcast system message at an RRC layer needs to be used.Specifically, 1-bit waveform indication information may be added to anexisting message or a newly defined message, to transmit the waveformindication information.

703. The terminal obtains waveform information through parsing based onthe broadcast system message.

Specifically, the terminal needs to obtain, through parsing based on thereceived broadcast system message, the waveform information that isconfigured by the network device for the terminal for uplinktransmission.

704. The network device generates a random access response (RAR)message.

Specifically, the RAR message needs to include a scheduling parameterthat needs to be used to instruct the terminal to transmit uplink data.The RAR message corresponds to one or more of a plurality of uplinktransmission waveforms. It should be noted that because the waveforminformation has been transmitted to the terminal in step 702, tosimplify a processing procedure of the terminal, two schedulingparameter formats may be defined to respectively indicate differentwaveforms (for example, an OFDM waveform and a DFT-S-OFDM waveform).Because the terminal has known waveform configuration information, afterthe terminal receives the RAR message, the terminal may directly performparsing based on a scheduling parameter format corresponding to theknown waveform. For example, a scheduling parameter format that includesconsecutive resource mapping, a modulation and coding scheme, and FDSSindication information may correspond to the DFT-S-OFDM waveform, anddiscrete resource mapping, the modulation and coding scheme, and a powercontrol instruction may be used to represent the OFDM waveform.Alternatively, a general format may be defined to correspond to the twowaveforms. In this case, regardless of a waveform that is to be used,the terminal may obtain the scheduling parameter through parsing basedon the format, so as to greatly simplify a processing procedure of theterminal.

705. The network device sends the RAR message.

Specifically, the network device sends the RAR message to the terminalthrough a PDSCH.

706. The terminal obtains scheduling information through parsing basedon the RAR message.

707. The terminal sends uplink data by using the scheduling informationindicated by the RAR message.

Specifically, in the two steps, after receiving the RAR message, theterminal obtains the scheduling parameter included in the messagethrough parsing, so as to transmit the uplink data based on thescheduling parameter and the waveform obtained in the foregoing step.

In this embodiment, the network device flexibly controls a waveform ofthe terminal, so that the terminal can transmit uplink data by using anappropriate waveform, thereby improving user experience. In addition,when the terminal has known the waveform, the terminal only needs todetect a small quantity of DCI formats, so as to simplify relatedprocessing and operations of the terminal.

The solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention aremainly described above from a perspective of interaction betweendevices. It can be understood that to implement the foregoing functions,the devices, namely, the network device and the terminal includecorresponding hardware structures and/or software modules forimplementing the functions. A person of ordinary skill in the art shouldeasily be aware that, in combination with the examples of units andsteps described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, thepresent invention can be implemented by hardware or a combination ofhardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed byhardware or hardware driven by computer software depends on particularapplications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A personskilled in the art may use different methods to implement the describedfunctions for each particular application, but it should not beconsidered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the presentinvention.

Embodiment 7

FIG. 8 is a possible schematic structural diagram of a network device inthe foregoing method embodiments. The network device 800 includes amemory 803, a controller/processor 802, and a transceiver 801.

The memory 803 is configured to store program code that may be executedby the controller/processor.

The controller/processor 802 is configured to read and execute theprogram code stored in the memory 803, to perform the steps that aredescribed in the foregoing method embodiment and that are performed bythe network device, for example, the related step of generating one ormore pieces of control information described in the foregoing methods.For details, refer to related descriptions of the network device inEmbodiment 1 to Embodiment 6. Details are not described herein again.

The transceiver 801 is configured to support the step of sending andreceiving information between the network device and the terminaldescribed in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, the step ofreceiving various messages/information sent by the terminal, or the stepof sending various pieces of information/messages to the terminal. Fordetails, refer to related descriptions of the network device inEmbodiment 1 to Embodiment 6. Details are not described herein again.

It may be understood that FIG. 8 merely shows a simplified design of thenetwork device. In actual application, the network device may includeany quantity of transceivers, processors, controllers, memories,communications units, and the like, and all network devices that canimplement the present invention shall fall within the protection scopeof the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a simplified schematic diagram of a possible design structureof a terminal in the foregoing embodiments. The terminal device 900includes a processor 901 and a transceiver 902.

The processor 901 is configured to perform the steps/actions that aredescribed in the foregoing method embodiments and that are performed bythe terminal, for example, to perform the related step that is describedin the foregoing methods and in which a waveform used to transmit uplinkdata is obtained based on one or more pieces of control information. Fordetails, refer to descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments.Details are not described herein again.

The transceiver 902 is configured to support the step of sending andreceiving information between the terminal and the network devicedescribed in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, the step ofreceiving various messages/information sent by the network device, orthe step of sending various pieces of information/messages to thenetwork device. For details, refer to descriptions in the foregoingmethod embodiments. Details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the terminal 900 may further include a memory 910,configured to store program code that may be executed by the processor,so that the processor can implement, based on the program code stored inthe memory 910, the actions performed by the terminal in the foregoingembodiments. The processor 901 and the memory 910 may be integrated intoa processing apparatus. In other words, in a specific implementation,the memory 910 may be integrated into the processor 901.

As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal 900 may further include a power supply903, configured to supply power to various components or circuits in theterminal. The terminal may further include an antenna 904, configured tosend, by using a radio signal, uplink data output by the transceiver, oroutput a received radio signal to the transceiver. In addition, toimplement more functions of the terminal, the terminal may furtherinclude one or more of an input unit 906, a display unit 907, an audiocircuit 909, a camera 905, a sensor 908, and the like. The audio circuit909 may include a loudspeaker 9091, a microphone 9092, and the like.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a chip intowhich a circuit used to implement functions of the foregoing processor901 is integrated. When the foregoing memory 910 is integrated into thechip, the chip is connected to the transceiver 902 through an interface,to send a message/information/data mentioned in the foregoing methodembodiments to a network device through the interface, or receive, fromthe interface, a message/information/data sent by the network device.When the foregoing memory 910 is not integrated into the chip, the chipmay be connected to an external memory and the transceiver through aninterface. The chip implements, based on program code stored in theexternal memory, the actions performed by the terminal in the foregoingembodiments, and sends and receives the data/message/information byusing the transceiver connected to the chip. The functions supported bythe chip may include the internal actions of the terminal that arementioned in Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 6. Details are not describedherein again.

It should be noted that the processor shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 may beone processing unit, or may be a collective term of a plurality ofprocessing units. For example, the processor may be a central processingunit (CPU), or may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC),or may be configured as one or more integrated circuits for implementingthis embodiment of the present invention, for example, one or moremicroprocessors (DSP) or one or more field programmable gate arrays(FPGA).

The memory may be a storage apparatus, or may be a collective term of aplurality of storage elements, and is configured to store executableprogram code, or a parameter, data, or the like that needs to be used bya residential access network device or a terminal for running. Thememory may include a random-access memory (RAM), or may include anon-volatile memory (NVM) such as a disk memory or a flash.

A person skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments ofthe present invention may be provided as a method, a system, or acomputer program product. Therefore, the present invention may use aform of hardware only embodiments, software only embodiments, orembodiments with a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, thepresent invention may use a form of a computer program product that isimplemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including butnot limited to a disk memory, a CD-ROM, an optical memory, and the like)that include computer-usable program code.

The present invention is described with reference to the flowchartsand/or block diagrams of the method, the device (system), and thecomputer program product according to the embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be understood that computer program instructionsmay be used to implement each process and/or each block in theflowcharts and/or the block diagrams and a combination of a processand/or a block in the flowcharts and/or the block diagrams. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided for a general-purposecomputer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or aprocessor of any other programmable data processing device to generate amachine, so that the instructions executed by a computer or a processorof any other programmable data processing device generate an apparatusfor implementing a specified function in one or more processes in theflowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may alternatively be stored in acomputer readable memory that can instruct the computer or any otherprogrammable data processing device to work in a specific manner, sothat the instructions stored in the computer readable memory generate anartifact that includes an instruction apparatus. The instructionapparatus implements a specified function in one or more processes inthe flowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, a person skilled in the art can make changes andmodifications to these embodiments once they learn of the basicinventive concept. Therefore, the following claims are intended to beconstrued as to cover the preferred embodiments and all changes andmodifications falling within the scope of the present invention.

Apparently, a person skilled in the art can make various modificationsand variations to the present invention without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. The present invention isintended to cover these modifications and variations provided that theyfall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims andtheir equivalent technologies.

1. A control information sending method, wherein the method comprises:generating, by a network device, first control information, wherein thefirst control information comprises first information indicating anuplink transmission waveform of a terminal; sending, by the networkdevice, the first control information to the terminal; generating, bythe network device, second control information, wherein the secondcontrol information comprises second information indicating the uplinktransmission waveform of the terminal; and sending, by the networkdevice, the second control information to the terminal.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first control information is radioresource control (RRC) signaling, and the second control information isdownlink control information (DCI).
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein the uplink transmission waveform indicated by the first controlinformation is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)waveform, a discrete Fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveform, or an OFDM waveform and aDFT-S-OFDM waveform.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein thefirst control information is used to indicate a waveform used when theterminal transmits uplink data for one time or for a plurality of times.5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink transmissionwaveform indicated by the second control information is an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform or a discrete Fouriertransform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM)waveform.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the firstinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform of the terminalis transmission mode (TM) information, modulation and coding scheme(MCS) information, or waveform and power control mixed information. 7.The method according to claim 1, wherein the second control informationis downlink control information (DCI), and a length of the DCI indicatesat least one uplink transmission waveform, or the DCI comprises onepiece of waveform indication information.
 8. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the second information indicating the uplinktransmission waveform is at least one piece of power controlinformation, and a cumulative power offset of the at least one piece ofpower control information is used by the terminal to determine awaveform.
 9. A control information receiving method, wherein the methodcomprises: receiving, by a terminal, first control information sent by anetwork device, wherein the first control information comprises firstinformation indicating an uplink transmission waveform; receiving, bythe terminal, second control information sent by the network device,wherein the second control information comprises second informationindicating the uplink transmission waveform; and determining, by theterminal based on the first control information and the second controlinformation, a waveform used to send uplink data.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the first control information is radioresource control (RRC) signaling, and the second control information isdownlink control information (DCI).
 11. The method according to claim 9,wherein the uplink transmission waveform indicated by the first controlinformation is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)waveform, a discrete Fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveform, or an OFDM waveform and aDFT-S-OFDM waveform.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein thefirst control information is used to indicate a waveform used when theterminal transmits the uplink data for one time or for a plurality oftimes.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the uplinktransmission waveform indicated by the second control information of theterminal is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)waveform or a discrete Fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveform.
 14. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the first information indicating the uplinktransmission waveform is transmission mode™ information, modulation andcoding scheme (MCS) information, or waveform and power control mixedinformation.
 15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the secondcontrol information is downlink control information (DCI), and a lengthof the DCI indicates at least one uplink transmission waveform, or theDCI comprises one piece of waveform indication information.
 16. Themethod according to claim 9, wherein the second information indicatingthe uplink transmission waveform is at least one piece of power controlinformation, and a waveform of the terminal is determined by using botha cumulative power offset of the at least one piece of power controlinformation and a power value set by the terminal.
 17. A network device,wherein the network device comprises at least one processor, one or morememories, and a transmitter, and wherein the one or more memories storesprogramming instructions for execution by the at least one processor to:generate first control information, wherein the first controlinformation comprises first information indicating an uplinktransmission waveform of a terminal; send, using the transmitter, thefirst control information to the terminal; generate second controlinformation, wherein the second control information comprises secondinformation indicating the uplink transmission waveform of the terminal;and send, using the transmitter, the second control information to theterminal.
 18. The network device according to claim 17, wherein thefirst control information is radio resource control (RRC) signaling, andthe second control information is downlink control information (DCI).19. The network device according to claim 17, wherein the uplinktransmission waveform indicated by the first control information is anorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform, a discreteFourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(DFT-S-OFDM) waveform, or an OFDM waveform and a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.20. The network device according to claim 17, wherein the uplinktransmission waveform indicated by the second control information is anorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform or a discreteFourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(DFT-S-OFDM) waveform.
 21. A terminal, comprising a receiver, one ormore memories, and at least one processor, wherein: the receiver isconfigured to receive first control information sent by a networkdevice, wherein the first control information comprises firstinformation indicating an uplink transmission waveform, and receivesecond control information sent by the network device, wherein thesecond control information comprises second information indicating theuplink transmission waveform; and the one or more memories storesprogramming instructions for execution by the at least one processor todetermine, based on the first control information and the second controlinformation, a waveform used to send uplink data.
 22. The terminalaccording to claim 21, wherein the first control information is radioresource control (RRC) signaling, and the second control information isdownlink control information (DCI).
 23. The terminal according to claim21, wherein the uplink transmission waveform indicated by the firstcontrol information is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) waveform, a discrete Fourier transform-spread orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (DFT- S-OFDM) waveform, or an OFDMwaveform and a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.
 24. The terminal according to claim21, wherein the uplink transmission waveform indicated by the secondcontrol information of the terminal is an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) waveform or a discrete Fourier transform-spreadorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveform.